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ACID IN YOUR EYES

Countdown to 2018

Yeah, I know. It’s 2018. I’m talking about the Steelers 2018 season. We probably shouldn’t have a countdown. It’s like watching water boil…trying to make mock drafts sound like something other than abject guesswork that it is….project roster moves….calculating salary cap space…

Anyway, we’re going to keep it rolling through the entire barren wasteland that is the off season.

When I asked Nick whether he planned to watch the Patriots-Jaguars game, he replied that he’d rather was his eyes out with acid. That about sums it up. The hatred for the Patriots doesn’t translate into a desire to root for Bork Blattles (yeah…Bork Blattles) and Company.

Listen as we cover the following:

Le’Veon – Getting Closer

Coaching Changes

The Defense…Redux

Looking ahead to the off season episodes

News of the Past Week

Le’Veon Bell

Reported on Wednesday, Le’Veon said he believes sides are closer to a long-term deal than they were last offseason. Well, well, well….better late than never. What? Oh, it’s too late. We’re expecting him to be FRANCHISED. All that hoopla about Le’v missing most of Saturday walk-through then following it up by showing up later than expected for the Jags game…meh. He says he told the coaches. No one else is making a stink. End of story.

During the podcast we debated Le’v’s worth. Does he have too many miles on him? How productive was he…really.. this past year? As you likely know, he had the most carries (402), dwarfing our second-place finisher, LeSean McCoy (346). He had more receptions than any RB with 85, but his yardage (655) paled in comparison with Alvin Kamara’s (81/826). So he produced 4.79 yards per touch which was 6th best of RBs. Unfortunately, he managed just 4 yards per carry compared to Kareem Hunt’s league-leading 4.9.

Todd Haley

Farewell old friend. Have fun in Cleveland with your 15 first-round draft picks. During Haley’s time as the Steelers’ coordinator, the team averaged the third-most yards per play. In the past four seasons under Haley, the Steelers ranked second in the league in scoring behind only the Patriots. Guess it was just time.

Randy Fichtner

As unpronounceable as “Favre”, Randy has a lot to prove to me before I commit to learning the etymology of his surname. Anyway, this is his first season as a coordinator. Will he flash flexibility to counter Haley’s dogmatism?

Darryl Drake

Drake was an assistant coach in the NFL for 14 years before he accepted Tomlin’s offer to coach the Steelers wide receivers and replace the revered and recently-retired Richard Mann. For the past five seasons, Drake has been coaching the Arizona Cardinals’ wide receivers. Nice pedigree. Interestingly, the person many in Steeler Nation hoped would assume the mantle of WR coach, Hines Ward, was under Drakes tutelage from 1992 to 1996 at the University of Georgia.